Series & Grade

Supervisory Status

Who May Apply

Control Number

Job Announcement Number

Job Overview

Summary

Vacancy ID: 1043325

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincolns promise  To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan  by serving and honoring the men and women who are Americas Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate care to Veterans?

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) needs employees who possess the energy, compassion, and commitment to serve those who served our Country. Whatever the job title, every position in VA will give you a chance to make a meaningful and personal contribution to the lives of truly special and deserving people - our Veterans. VA professionals feel good about their careers and their ability to balance work and home life. VA offers generous paid time off and a variety of predictable and flexible scheduling opportunities. Working for VA is one of the most emotionally satisfying and professionally rewarding ways to dedicate the best within you to your Country's service.
If you are transitioning from the military or a Veteran already, we invite you to explore the benefits of continuing your career at the VA. The VA is committed to hiring Veterans.

The VA is much more than just another employer. It is an honorable, open and welcoming community of those who care. Gratitude is our motivation and service is our mission.

The VA has adopted Core Values and Characteristics that apply universally across the Department. The five Core Values define who we are, our culture, and how we care for Veterans, their families and other beneficiaries. The Values are Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect and Excellence (I CARE).

Duties

Note: This is a TERM appointment not to exceed two (2) years but may be extended for an additional two (2) years without further competition. TERM appointments are non-status, nonpermanent appointments of limited duration. Term employees are eligible to earn leave and generally have the same benefits as permanent employees including health and life insurance, within-grade increases, Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), and Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) coverage. Term appointments may be extended without further competition.

The location of this position is in the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System (CTVHCS), VISN 17 Center of Excellence (CoE) for Research on Returning War Veterans in Waco, TX. The VISN 17 CoE for Research on Returning War Veterans was designated in 2006 when Congress instructed the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to designate the Waco campus as a Center of Excellence to focus on mental health/post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) needs. The primary mission of the VISN 17 CoE is to develop, implement, and disseminate research into the causes of PTSD and its effects on combat Veterans and others.

Major Duties and Responsibilities Include:

Receive training to conduct clinical interviews with research participants.

Gather and record information from research participants via a variety of standardized clinical interviews.

Observe and note any participant behavior that may be significant or may possibly confound the results of the study.

Assist with recruitment and retention goals as required by the funded and approved protocol(s).

Maintain a weekly tracking spreadsheet of all initial human subject screens, enrollment into the study, and progress throughout the study sessions.

Assist with data entry by entering and maintaining research data on various spreadsheets.

Perform other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Travel Required

Not Required

Relocation Authorized

No

Job Requirements

Key Requirements

You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job.

You may be required to serve a probationary period

Background investigation may be required.

Qualifications

In order to qualify for this position you must meet the following two requirements:

ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position.

BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT: You must have successfully completed a bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college or university, with a major in an appropriate social or biological science which included or was supplemented by twelve (12) semester hours in psychology. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED)

Two Quality Ranking Factors* have been requested by the facility to help determine which of the basically qualified applicants are likely to be better qualified for a position. The quality ranking factors for this position are:

(1)Experience with clinical diagnostic instruments such as the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV or the Clinician Administered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Scale.

(2) Experience utilizing research methods and design in social science research.

*Quality Ranking Factors are skills, knowledge, abilities, or other worker characteristics which could be expected to result in superior performance on the job. Quality ranking factors will not be used for screening, but may be used as ranking criteria. Applicants with higher proficiency levels may rank above those with lower proficiency levels on a quality ranking factor.

You will be rated on the following Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Other characteristics (KSAOs) as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position (Narrative Responses Not Required):

·Ability to communicate effectively in person and in writing with research team and participants.

·Ability to organize work and set priorities.

·Knowledge of computer spreadsheet software.

·Knowledge of psychological research methods and the assessment of behavioral and affective disorders.

·Ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENT: The work is primarily sedentary. Typically, the employee may sit comfortably to perform portions of the work. Employees will be required to periodically walk, stand, bend, and carry light items weighing up to 30 pounds. No special physical demands are required to perform the work.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

APPLICANTS PLEASE NOTE: Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Please refer to this checklist to ensure proper accreditation and for foreign education requirements.

Veteran's Preference:

When applying for Federal jobs, eligible veterans should claim preference on the Occupational Questionnaire in the section provided and provide a legible copy of DD-214(s) showing all dates of service as well as character of service (honorable, general, etc.). Additionally, veterans with service-connected disability of 10% or more must also submit a copy of their official statement from the Department of Veterans Affairs, or from a branch of the Armed Forces, certifying their service-connected disability and/or their receipt of compensation for service-connected disability. If the military member is within 120 days of separation and does not yet have a DD214, the member may instead submit any written document from the armed forces that certifies the service member is expected to be discharged or released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is signed.

Security Clearance

Public Trust - Background Investigation

Additional Information

What To Expect Next

After the vacancy announcement closes and a referral certificate is issued, an electronic notification letter - or e-mail - will be sent to applicants who provide an e-mail address. Otherwise, you will receive a notification letter via the U.S. Postal Service within 2 to 4 weeks.

BENEFITS

The Federal Government has special excepted appointing authorities for persons with qualifying disabilities, such as Schedule A. Specific information can be found at http://www.opm.gov/disability/peoplewithdisabilities.asp. IMPORTANT: If you would like to receive consideration as a Schedule A applicant, you must contact the Human Resources office at the facility where this position is located at .

Other Information

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employees credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete application (See "Required Documents" section below). The complete Application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on Wednesday, February 12, 2014.

To begin the process, click the Apply Online button on the right side of this screen to create an account or log in to your existing USAJOBS account. Be sure to upload the required documents before you submit your application. Please ensure you click the Submit My Answers button at the end of the process. Mailed/emailed applications will not be accepted.

Note: To change or update your application, simply reapply through My USAJOBS, before the closing date. To check the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), select Application Status and click on the more information link under the application status for this position.

Fax the completed 1203FX form along with all supporting documents to (478)757-3144. Your 1203FX form must be placed on top of all materials being faxed and will serve as a cover page for your fax transmission.

Keep a copy of your fax receipt in case verification is needed.

To fax supporting documents you are unable to upload:

Complete this cover page http://staffing.opm.gov/pdf/usascover.pdf using the following Vacancy ID: 1043325. You must use this fax cover sheet in order for your documents to be matched with your online application.

Fax your documents to (478)757-3144.

How You Will Be Evaluated

Applicants will be ranked based on four quality groups, as follows:

Best qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position;

Highly qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the requirements of the job;

Well qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in some, but not all, of the requirements of the job; and

Qualified - applicants possessing experience and/or education that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors.

After the vacancy announcement closes, reviewed applications are evaluated against the questionnaire responses and placed in the appropriate quality group. Qualified veterans will be afforded preference by being placed at the top of the appropriate quality group. Qualifying veterans with a service-connected disability of 10% or more will be placed at the top of the best qualified group. The best qualified group is the first to be referred to the hiring facility for further consideration and possible interview. The remaining groups may be referred based on the number of applicants available.

Required Documents

The following documents are required:

Resume

Responses to the Occupational Questionnaire

Other documents - use this checklist to make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for well-qualified, displaced Federal employees), or documentation to support Veterans Preference claims. You will not be contacted for additional information.